Valve mechanism



July 2, 1940. B. F; ALLISON ET AL VALVE MECHANISM Filed NOV. 16, 1956 Patented July 2 1940 I p UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,206,215 VALVE MECHANISM Bartle F. Allison, Henderson, and James F. Justiss, Arp; Tex.

Application November 16, 1936, Serial No.1 1 11,002

2 Claims. (Cl. 251-22 1 a valve casing having a discharge outlet and also .5 having separate inlets into the casing with a valve and seat in the casing, saidvalve being automatically movable by the pressure of the liquid flowing from either inlet into position to clear the outlet whereby the other inlet will be closed by the valve.

It is another object of the invention to provide a valve mechanism of the character described.

having two inlets, with an outlet between them and a valve mounted to be automatically moved by the pressure of the liquid to either side of the outlet wherebyliquid under pressure may flow from one inlet through the casing to the outlet and be excluded from the other inlet.

The valve mechanism herein described has been specifically designed for use in compounding pumps, that is, for applying the combinedpressure of a plurality of pumps to liquid flowing from one pump through a common discharge pipe.

In well drilling it is common practice to combine two slush pumps for taking drilling fluid from a pit or tank and forcing same down through the drill stem in the well. Usually only one of the pumps will operate at a time, the other being merely a stand-by pump for use in emergency, or in case of a break down of the other pump, At times, however, it may be found desirable to increase the pressure of the drilling fluid being forced down into the well and in such case the pumps are compounded, that is, the

combined pressure of the pumps is applied to the drilling fluid for the purpose of increasingthe pressure of the fluid which is forced into the well through the drill stem andreturned to the ground surface through the bore outside of the drill stem.

It is the prime object of this invention to provide novel means for compounding pumps for the purpose stated.

With the above and other objects in view the.

invention has particular relation to certain novel features of construction, operation and arrangement of parts, an example of which isgiven in this specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 shows a plan view of the pumps showlng also a fragmentary view of the slush pit and showing the valve mechanism and the connecting pipes.

Figure 2 shows an enlarged plan view of the valve mechanism, and Figure 3 shows a sectional view thereof.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, wherein like numerals of reference designate similar parts in each of the figures, the numerals I and 2 designate conventional slush pumps hav ing the respective suction pipes 3, 4 whose inlet ends are to be submerged in the drilling fluid contained in the. slush pit 5. These pumps have the discharge pipes 6, l, which unite in a common delivery pipe which leads to the stand pipe, common to the usual well drilling rig. As is well known 10 a hose leads from the stand pipe through aswivel to the upper end of the drill stem through which the fluid is forced down through the drill stem to the ground surface. The pipes E, l are equipped with gate valves 9, i0 respectively on opposite l5 sides of the delivery pipe 8.

The suction pipe 4 is connected into the inlet end of the valve casing H and leading out from this casing i I there is the tubular nipple l2 which is connected into the suction chamber of the 20 pump 2. Any conventional type of slush pump may be employed and a specific description thereof is not deemed to be necessary.

Between said inlet end of the casing II and the nipple l2 there is a spider l3 having an annular 25 marginal flange l4 which is clamped between adjacent sections of the casing as shown in Figure 3, i said adjacent sections having registering flanges which are secured together by means of the clamp bolts 15. The spider I3 is formedo-pen 30 to permit the ready passage of the drilling fluid but its side facing the discharge nipple i2 is formed with an annular valve seat i6. A disc valve 11 is arranged to cooperate with and close the seat Hi. This valve is mounted on a stem I8 35 which works through a central bearing IQ of .the spider l3 and which also works through a suitable stufling box 2i] mounted on the end of the casing l l opposite the inlet end thereof. The stem I8 is slidable through said bearing and stuffing box and 40 its outer end carries a grip member 2i for use in case it may be desired to manipulate the valve manually.

' A bypass pipe 22 is connected at one end into the pipe 6 between the pump l and the valve 9 45 and the other end of this bypasslp-ipe is connected into the casing l l on the opposite side of the discharge nipple l2 from the valve seat It, as at the point 23. This bypass pipe 22 is equipped with a gate valve, 24 whereby said pipe may be opened 50 and closed. During normal operations the valves 9 and 24 will be closed and the valve It will be open. The pump 2 will, in this instance, be in operation, and the pump I will be used merely as a stand-by pump for use in case of a break down 55 of the pump 2. The drilling fluid will be taken from the pit 5 through the suction line 4 and the valve I! will be lifted from its seat into position to clear the discharge I2. This lifting of the valve will, under normal conditions be automatic and the drilling fluid will flow in through the casing l i into the pump and will be discharged out through the line 1 and through the delivery pipe 8 into the well. Should it be desired to increase the pressure of the liquid being delivered intothe Well, the valve 24 may be opened and the pump I started. The drilling fluid will then be drawn in through the suction pipe 3 and forced through the pipes 6 and 22 into the casing ll between the valve I! and the closed end of said casing and this will force the valve l1 onto, and close, theseat l6 and the fluid under pressure will be delivered into the pump 2 which, at the same time, is-operating and the liquid subjected to the combined pressure of bothpumps will be forced out of the line 1 into and through the delivery line 8 and *onto the standpipe and thence down through the drill stem to the bottom of the well and out as hereinabove explained.

The use of the valve mechanism herein de- 1. A valve comprising a cylindrical valve casing which is closed at one end and provided with a flange pipe coupling at the other end, said body having an inlet adjacent the closed end, and a discharge outlet intermediate the ends thereof, a spider connected to the body by the flanges of said flange coupling, said spider having an axial valve stem bearing and a valve seat arranged transversely of the body, a valve stem reciprocable through the body, closed end, and bearing, a valve on the stem movable into one position to cooperate with said seat to close the end of the body and to allow fluid flow from the inlet to the outlet, and to another position to allow fluid flow from the outlet through the body and spider.

, 2. A valve comprising a cylindrical valve casing which is closed at one end and provided with a flange pipe coupling at the other end, said body having an inlet adjacent the closed end, and a discharge outlet intermediate the ends thereof, a spider connected to the bodyby the flanges of said flange coupling, said spider having an axial 'valve stem bearing and a valve seat arranged transversely of the body, a valve stem reciprocable through the body, closed end, and bearing, a

valve on the stem movable into one position to cooperate with said seat to close the end of the body and to allow fluid flow from the inlet to the outlet, and to another position to allow fluid flow from the outlet through the body and spider, the

outlet being larger in diameter than the thickness of the valve whereby fluid may be by-passed around the valve when'the valve is opposite the outlet.

BARTLE F. ALLISON. JAMES F. JUSTISS. 

